Nintendo leans on new Star Fox, Zelda games to anchor its E3 showing

With details of Nintendo’s next console firmly postponed until 2016, the gaming giant relied on its most popular franchises to anchor its E3 Digital Event.

Star Fox Zero for Wii U looks plenty capable of appeasing Fox McCloud fans. Overall, the gameplay appears to be much of the same although a healthy dose of new vehicles and features should keep things interesting.

The iconic Arwing is now able to transform into a bipedal robot called a Walker, a vehicle originally designed for the unreleased Star Fox 2 on the Super Nintendo. There’s also the Gyrowing, described as a maneuverable vehicle with a tethered drone that’s suitable for exploring tight locations.

In addition to new ships, the game was built to take advantage of the Wii U controller’s second screen and gyroscope. Gamers will get a third-person view on their television with a more personal and precise cockpit view shown on the GamePad's display. Look for Star Fox Zero to arrive in time for the holiday buying season later this year.

Nintendo also announced plans for a multiplayer Zelda game for the 3DS. With The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, director Hiromasa Shikata said he wanted players to cooperatively enjoy more serious Zelda gameplay elements such as solving puzzles and going through dungeons.

Key gameplay mechanics in this dungeon crawler include having players stand on top of each other to fight bosses and reach higher ground.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is expected to launch this fall.